Methods and systems relating to impact management of information technology systems

ABSTRACT

Described are various embodiments of methods and systems relating to impact management of IT systems, including a server-based IT management system comprising a network server having a service function object store that stores a plurality of service function objects, each service function object being a digital representation of a service function and comprising one or more service attributes and one or more service function links for linking each service function object to at least one other service function object; and a network communications interface for receiving information indicative of an operating state for each service function; wherein the operability of any given service function is determined automatically upon the reduction of operating state of any one or more other service functions based on direct and indirect linkages between the given service function and the other service functions and the respective service-loss impact values associated with each said direct and indirect linkages.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for assessing,reacting and managing the impact of changes in system status, and, inparticular, to methods and systems for impact management of informationtechnology systems.

BACKGROUND

Traditional computer based information systems using relationaldatabases have inherent limitations when it comes to generating impactcalculations and providing impact assessment reports. In some cases,this may relate to an inherent difficulty in one or more of thefollowing: establishing relationships between disparate system, theeffects and characteristics that may be impacted by a change in statusin one or more of those systems, the extent and significance of a changeof status on systems that may be directly or only indirectly associated.

Shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 there are shown, respectively, a flat file designand a relational database structure for tracking service functions in anIT system and relationships therebetween in current systems. The flatfile structure 600 (e.g. spreadsheet) shown in FIG. 3 has been used totrack IT systems' service functions. It has a simple design, and is easyto implement and use for highly simple data sets. Modern IT systems arehighly complex, however, and this structure becomes difficult to use asit requires duplicate and repeated data elements, a bulky databasedesign, and is mistake prone due to entering the same data multipletimes. Moreover, dynamically changing IT systems, in which new servicefunctions are added, or existing service functions change status andcapabilities in real time become impossible to track using this filestructure. A relational database provides for grouping information intovarious reusable tables 720A to 720F with rows and columns. The tablesand the data within are related through Primary and Foreign Keys 710A to710F, which allows relationships to be created between datasets, and theoutput (extracting of data) is based upon queries to the various tablesto collect, display or report. Such structures are common, with plentyof vendor support and mature industry best practices, and can storelarge amounts of data once structured. However, relational databaseshave a number of shortcomings in tracking IT systems: data is not storedin the same way humans see the surrounding environment; queries can getvery complicated, typically involves multiple queries and multiplerelationship joins to represent one object, particularly as IT systemsgrow in complexity over time, and status and capabilities change andevolve; the types of relationships are limited to 1:1 (one to one), 1:N(one to many) and N:M or N:N (many to many), also referred to ascardinality; N:M or N:N (many to many) relationships have to be joinedthrough a junction/mapping table adding to the complexity and increasingthe number of tables in the database. In general, the model design is arigid design, tables have to be designed correctly beforehand and theyare difficult to design “on the fly” as IT systems change and grow.

There is a need for systems and methods that extract the data from suchrelational database tables into an object model layer and runimpact-related calculations on the objects rather than the tablestructures directly.

This background information is provided to reveal information believedby the applicant to be of possible relevance. No admission isnecessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the precedinginformation constitutes prior art or forms part of the general commonknowledge in the relevant art.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the general inventiveconcept(s) described herein to provide a basic understanding of someaspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview ofthe disclosure. It is not intended to restrict key or critical elementsof embodiments of the disclosure or to delineate their scope beyond thatwhich is explicitly or implicitly described by the following descriptionand claims.

The Impact Management System (IMS) is a computer system component thatcan stand-alone or be incorporated into existing computer systems. TheImpact Management System (IMS) utilizes an Intelligent Object Model(IOM), containing Intelligent Path Routing (IPR) and Intelligent PathRouting Algorithms (IPR-A) capabilities based upon scientific andmathematical inputs necessary for to accurately perform impactcalculations necessary for impact assessment reporting.

Embodiments described herein are configured to extract and use datatypically located in relational tables into an object model layer, andthen and run calculations on the objects rather than the tablestructures directly. The Intelligent Object Model (IOM) allows for thecreation of this abstraction resulting in capabilities and efficienciesbeyond the inherent limitations of relational tables when traversingrelated objects.

A need exists for methods and systems for impact management ofinformation technology systems that overcome some of the drawbacks ofknown techniques, or at least, provides a useful alternative thereto.Some aspects of this disclosure provide examples of such methods andsystems.

In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a server-based ITmanagement system comprising a network server further comprising aservice function object store that stores a plurality of servicefunction objects, each service function object being a digitalrepresentation of a service function and comprising one or more serviceattributes and one or more service function links for linking eachservice function object to at least one other service function object;and a network communications interface for receiving informationindicative of an operating state for each service function; wherein eachservice function link is associated with a service-loss impact valueindicating service-loss impact on the operating state of each linkedservice function linked thereto upon a reduction in operating state ofthe service function; and wherein the operability of any given servicefunction is determined automatically upon the reduction of operatingstate of any one or more other service functions based on direct andindirect linkages between the given service function and the otherservice functions and the respective service-loss impact valuesassociated with each said direct and indirect linkages.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a server-based ITmanagement method, said method implemented on a server-based ITmanagement system comprising a network server and a networkcommunications interface, said method comprising: storing a servicefunction object store in said network server, a plurality of servicefunction objects, each service function object being a digitalrepresentation of a service function, each service function objectcomprising one or more service attributes; associating one or moreservice function links between at least one of the service functionobjects, wherein each service function link is associated with aservice-loss impact value indicating service-loss impact on theoperating state of each linked service function linked thereto upon areduction in operating state of the service function; receivinginformation indicative of an operating state for each service functionvia said network communications interface; and automaticallydetermining, upon the reduction of an operating state of any one or moreother service functions, the operability of any given service functionbased on direct and indirect linkages between the given service functionand the other service functions and the respective service-loss impactvalues associated with each said direct and indirect linkages

Other aspects, features and/or advantages will become more apparent uponreading of the following non-restrictive description of specificembodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Several embodiments of the present disclosure will be provided, by wayof examples only, with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of the relationships between an ITsystem architecture and the layered groupings of the intelligent pathobject model.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary intelligent path routing using 3 impactassessments.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the business intelligence management systemarchitecture and connections to various exemplary trusted sources ofdata.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary intelligent path routing report using 3 impactassessment examples.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram of linkages and impact pathways betweenindependent components of an IT system as shown in FIG. 3 with criticaland alternative paths indicated in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a flat file design structure for trackingservice functions in an IT system and relationships therebetween incurrent systems.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a relational database structure for trackingservice functions in an IT system and relationships therebetween incurrent systems.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary conceptual diagram of the service functionsassociated with a typical IT system, arranged in accordance with anobject model.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary conceptual diagram of the service functionsobjects associated with a typical IT system, arranged in accordance withan intelligent object model in accordance with one embodiment hereof.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary conceptual diagram of the service functionsobjects associated with a typical IT system, arranged in accordance withan intelligent object model in accordance with one embodiment hereof,wherein critical paths for a given service function object isdetermined.

FIG. 11 shows in table form a critical path determination in accordancewith an embodiment hereof.

Elements in the several figures are illustrated for simplicity andclarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be emphasizedrelative to other elements for facilitating understanding of the variouspresently disclosed embodiments. Also, common, but well-understoodelements that are useful or necessary in commercially feasibleembodiments are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various implementations and aspects of the specification will bedescribed with reference to details discussed below. The followingdescription and drawings are illustrative of the specification and arenot to be construed as limiting the specification. Numerous specificdetails are described to provide a thorough understanding of variousimplementations of the present specification. However, in certaininstances, well-known or conventional details are not described in orderto provide a concise discussion of implementations of the presentspecification.

Various apparatuses and processes will be described below to provideexamples of implementations of the system disclosed herein. Noimplementation described below limits any claimed implementation and anyclaimed implementations may cover processes or apparatuses that differfrom those described below. The claimed implementations are not limitedto apparatuses or processes having all of the features of any oneapparatus or process described below or to features common to multipleor all of the apparatuses or processes described below. It is possiblethat an apparatus or process described below is not an implementation ofany claimed subject matter.

Furthermore, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the implementations described herein.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the relevant artsthat the implementations described herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theimplementations described herein.

In this specification, elements may be described as “configured to”perform one or more functions or “configured for” such functions. Ingeneral, an element that is configured to perform or configured forperforming a function is enabled to perform the function, or is suitablefor performing the function, or is adapted to perform the function, oris operable to perform the function, or is otherwise capable ofperforming the function.

It is understood that for the purpose of this specification, language of“at least one of X, Y, and Z” and “one or more of X, Y and Z” may beconstrued as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or moreitems X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XY, YZ, ZZ, and the like). Similar logicmay be applied for two or more items in any occurrence of “at least one. . .” and “one or more . . .” language.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown an exemplary conceptual diagram ofthe service functions associated with a typical IT system, arranged inaccordance with an object model. This object model offers someadvantages over flat file and relational databases; for example, beingobject based, data is designed representing how humans generally viewthe system and objects have attributes (properties) and relationships toother objects that are generally intuitive (e.g. it can represent users801 and user client devices 802, any and/or all elements in a localnetwork 810, clear connectivity to the Internet 820, and all elements ofassociated data centers 840), all relationships can be N:M (many tomany) and new tables or constructs are not required as the system growsand changes as would be required with relational database models, itprovides a flexible design that can extend the object model schema asrequired easier than a relational data model making it easier to adddata by adding a new object into the existing model instead of addingtables that may be different from an existing schema, and provides forsearching for related objects using a process called transversals.Object models, however, have some disadvantages; namely thattransversals, which allow users to see all the related objects, requiresbuilding all criteria into related queries, and that result sets aregenerally one level deep or follow paths until no more paths exist torelated objects making the data set large as it displays everything thatis connected to everything.

Referring to FIG. 9, showing an exemplary representation of anintelligent object model. It shows service function objects, including aclient service function 901 and its relationships linking 903A to 903Gto a data center service function 910. Embodiments of the intelligentobject model may have some added complexity over a typical object model,partly because in some cases it comprises service function links withattributes. Relationship attributes, shown in association with each ofthe relationships (including those on a linkage 903A to 903G from theclient service function 901 to a data center service function 910),enable an Impact Analysis through directly related Objects and byInference. In the embodiment shown, each service function link comprisesthe following exemplary information: ROID and RCID (object andconnection description and status), Type (description of relationshiptype), Value (a value associated with the relationship), and Cardinality(e.g. 1:1, 1:N, N:M). Other attributes can be used, and additional typesof relationship attributes may be added dynamically. Attribute valuesfor any given relationships may be amended independently of otherrelationships and service function objects. Relationship attributesenable Object Class rules that can be used to perform an Impact from anypredefined Object (Starting Point) and Object End Point Relationshipattributes enables the computational calculations using the Valueattribute pair to determine Criticality, Redundancy, or anyweighted/percentage to calculate proactive impact of any one or moreservice functions, particularly with respect to a critical set of one ormore service functions or the critical path associated with linksbetween two or more service functions. Intelligent Object ModelContaining Relationship attribute variables to calculate computationalimpact of a reduction in operational status of any given servicefunction (or group thereof) on any other given service functions (orgroup thereof).

The systems and methods described herein provide, in accordance withdifferent embodiments, different examples, including the BusinessIntelligence Management System (BIMS), which address shortcomings in thestate of the art through the use of an Intelligent Object Model (IOM)that is flexible, and capable of bringing together relevant data fromvarious trusted sources into a cohesive format and addressing thedisparate data schema problem. Intelligent Path Routing (IPR) can beimplemented to enhance the Intelligent Object Model (IOM) by extendingreporting capabilities on objects that are related only throughinference. The Intelligent Object Model (IOM) and Intelligent PathRouting (IPR) together significantly enhance data analytics and impactassessment reporting capabilities in the Business IntelligenceManagement System (BIMS).

The Business Intelligence Management System (BIMS) is designed toefficiently structure relevant business data together into objects,attributes and object relationships into a cohesive object model. TheIntelligent Object Model (IOM) can layer on top of existing data models(relational or otherwise) or can be incorporated with other existingobject model designs; the term as used herein refers to a generalizeddescription of the instantiation of service function objects thatrepresent service functions, and the relationships therebetween. TheBusiness Intelligence Management System (BIMS) can be a stand-alonesystem or deployed into any heterogeneous environment to increaseoperational efficiencies, significantly increase holistic data analyticscapabilities and enterprise impact assessment reporting. This designallow business to make the critical decisions and realize impacts to theorganizations without the need to replace the current tools, databasesor information systems.

Embodiments hereof may include an Intelligent Object Model (IOM) whichis an object and information model design used by the BusinessIntelligence Management System (BIMS); in embodiments, objects used bythe BIMS and referred to herein refer to service function objects thatare instantiated objects representing service functions associated withan IT system in respect of which the BIMS is operative. Such a model, orother similar configurations disclosed hereby, may contain objectinformation including but not limited to object classifications, objectattributes, and relationship to other objects and their instances. Therelationships, referred to as links, or service function links, can beunidirectional, bidirectional, direct, or inferred through multiple hopsalong an intelligent path of objects that represent the actual orlogical environment within the data. A linkage between a first servicefunction (or group of service functions) and a second service function(or group thereof) may be referred to as linkage or a path; embodimentshereof may be directed towards identifying linkage between any firstservice function (or group thereof) and second service function (orgroup thereof) and categorizing or understanding such linkages or path.Some embodiments may be directed towards understanding the impact of areduction in operation of a first service function (or group of servicefunctions) on a second service function (or group thereof) that arelinked by one or more links on the same path or linkage. These servicefunction links are stored in the BIMS in association with servicefunction objects and represent the direct links therebetween, and maycomprise of or access information relating to said links, including thelinked service function object, and the service-loss impact values orother values. In some embodiments, a service-loss impact value indicatesthe level of operational impact on the service function from a reductionin operation another service function to which the service function islinked by the corresponding service function link.

Embodiments hereof include a server-based IT management systemcomprising a network server in which the BIMS is run or from which theBIMS is executed. The BIMS may instantiate a service function objectstore that stores a plurality of service function objects, each servicefunction object being a digital representation of a service function. Aservice function may be any component, device, service, output, or groupthereof that forms a part of, or is controlled, managed, or monitoredby, the IT system associated with the BIMS. For example, referring toFIG. 1, IT components 130A to 130J, as well as subcomponents thereof andany services, devices, outputs (or group thereof) may be instantiated asservice function objects within the BIMS. Additional service objectfunctions may be created at any time thereafter (e.g. as a new classthat represents an aspect of an existing or new service function) andinstantiated after that. Each service function objection may comprise ofone or more service attributes that can be used to describecharacteristics of a given service function object, particularly as suchcharacteristics change over time. The network service, in general,comprises of a network communications interface, which is used, amongother things, to receive real-time information relating to thecharacteristics, including operational characteristics and status, ofthe service function corresponding to the service function object.

In some embodiments, each given service function objection may beamended at any time by, for example, adding, deleting, or changingservice attributes of a given service object function. In embodiments,service function objects can be managed by the BIMS without changing anyrelationship between the service functions themselves, or the underlyingservice function-specific data associated therewith. For example,databases or data storage devices may be associated with a given servicefunction (in this example, a service function could be, among otherthings, an OS on which an application is running, an application, a diskon which data used by the application is running, or a network devicesending and receiving information used by the application). Therelationships between these service functions may be changed over timeas new disks are added, the network is expanded to accommodateadditional traffic, or the application is upgraded or changed to provideother functionality. The system can still be managed simply by amendingthe object model, not the underlying relationship between the servicefunctions themselves, or the data provided by the service functionsthemselves. In some prior art systems, relational databases were used tomanage these relationships, however, the creation of links betweentables, or entries therein—and managing changes to the tables—becameincredibly cumbersome as systems become more complex. A query toestablish, for example, the status of linked service functions usinglinks in related tables was static with respect to the tables and thelinks therebetween; for every new service function added, or newrelationship between service functions added, there arose difficultproblems associated with generating new and often complex tablerelationships and new complex queries associated with each new addition.

In some embodiments, each service function object may further compriseone or more service function links for linking each service functionobject to at least one other service function object. Such a servicefunction link is used to describe a connection or association with eachsuch service function object link from other service function objects(or indeed, in some embodiments, other inputs, components, or servicesfor which the BIMS has not instantiated any service function objects).In some aspects, the one or more service function links associated witha given service function comprises information that describes the otherservice functions with which each such service function is linked and,in some embodiments, the nature of that link. For example, it maydescribe a dependency in respect of the other service function; in somecases, the linked service function is dependent on the service functioncorresponding to the stored service function link, or vice versa, orsometime there may be interdependence.

In embodiments, service function links may also comprise of aservice-loss impact value indicating service-loss impact on theoperating state of each linked service function linked thereto upon areduction in operating state of the service function. In aspects, thisprovides an indication of the impact on operability or functionality ofthe applicable service function (i.e. the service function correspondingto the service function object in association with which the servicefunction link is stored). This may comprise a more binary indication:functional or non-functional, or it may comprise a more gradedindication. In some cases, the impact on operability is a function ofone or more factors; said function, in some cases, may be dependent oncharacteristics of linked or indirectly linked service functions.

In some embodiments, the network server on which the BIMS is executedfurther comprises a network communications interface for receivinginformation regarding each service function for which there is acorresponding service function object instantiated on said networkserver (or some cases, on another communicatively linked computingdevice). The network communications interface may comprisepoint-to-point links such as Serial Advanced Technology Attachment(SATA) or a bus type connection such as Parallel Advanced TechnologyAttachment (PATA) or Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), a daisychained topology such as IEEE-1394, a link supporting various topologiessuch as Fibre Channel, or any other computer communication protocol,standard or proprietary, that may be used for communication to computerreadable medium. The memory/bus controller may also provide other I/Ocommunication links. In some embodiments, the network communicationsinterface may be a shared bus architecture such as peripheral componentinterface (PCI), microchannel, industry standard architecture (ISA) bus,extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, VERSAmoduleEurocard(VME) bus, or any other shared computer bus. In other embodiments, thenetwork communications interface may be a point-to-point link such asPCI-Express, HyperTransport, or any other point-to-point I/O link.Various I/O devices may be configured as a part of the network serversystem. In many embodiments, a network communications interface may beincluded to allow the network server to connect to a network. A network,such as the Internet, a LAN, WAN, or other network, may operate inaccordance with standards for an IEEE 802.3 ethernet network, an IEEE802.11 Wi-Fi wireless network, or any other type of computer networkincluding, but not limited to, LANs, WAN, personal area networks (PAN),wired networks, radio frequency networks, powerline networks, andoptical networks. A network gateway or router, which may be a separatecomponent from the network server or may be included as an integral partof the network server, may be connected to communicatively connectedcommunications networks to allow the applicable system to communicatewith the Internet (or other network) over an internet connection such asan asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), data over cable serviceinterface specification (DOCSIS) link, T1 or other internet connectionmechanism. In other embodiments, the network server may have a directconnection to the Internet (or other network). The network server may beconnected to one or more other computers such as a desktop computer orlaptop computer via the Internet, an intranet, and/or a wireless node.In some embodiments, an expansion slot may be included to allow a userto add additional functionality to the network server.

In some embodiments, the network server is configured to determine anoperability of any given service function is automatically upon thereduction of operating state of any one or more other service functionsbased on direct and indirect linkages between the given service functionand the other service functions and the respective service-loss impactvalues associated with each said direct and indirect linkages. In someembodiments, a reduction in operating state is not required, as thenetwork server may determine what the impact on operability of a givenservice function prior to any reduction in operating state. This may beuseful for planning or management purposes so that, for example,critical service functions can be determined and whether or not suchcritical service functions can be supplemented with redundant servicefunctions; or, more generally, the operational impact on any servicefunction (or group of service functions) upon the reduction ofoperability on any other one or more service functions within the ITsystem. In some embodiments, the operability of any given servicefunction, is calculated based on one or more of the service-loss impactvalues associated with each service function link associated with aservice function object corresponding to any service function that isdirectly or indirectly linked therewith. An example of an indirectlylinked service functions would include two service functions that arelinked via one or more other service functions.

Embodiments hereof may include Intelligent Path Routing (IPR), which insome embodiments is a feature of the Intelligent Object Model (IOM) orother similar models or designs supported hereby. It provides for thedetermination of impact assessments across directly related objects orextend the capability to allow impact to be determined across objectsthat are indirectly related or inferred. In some embodiments, IPR mayrefer to methods and systems disclosed herein whereby linkages aredetermined between a first service function (or group of servicefunctions), a second service function (or group thereof), and any otherservice functions (or groups of service functions) that are linked(directly or indirectly) with said first and second service functions(or groups thereof), as well as the operational impact on any servicefunction (or groups thereof) directly or indirectly linked to saidlinkage upon a reduction in operational state of any other servicefunction (or group thereof) that is linked directly or indirectly tosaid linkage. An example of an indirectly linked service functions wouldinclude service functions that are connected via another servicefunction, whereas an example of directly linked service functions wouldinclude those that have a dependency directly therebetween.

Prior Information Technology systems may comprise one or moresignificant gaps in way enterprise data is partitioned, or structureddifferently in vendor based information systems. To complicate mattersthe reporting capabilities are mainly concerned with writing queriesagainst relational database tables, where the objects are less obviousthereby omitting the information object model layer where theIntelligent Object Model (IOM) exists and where the Intelligent PathRouting (IPR) capabilities are realized.

There are inherent limitations in traditional tools and segregatedinformation systems that only track fractional information and not theholistic scope. Further limitations are evident when using traditionalrelational databases queries for reporting on data objects that are notdirectly related to each other. These relationships are more efficientlydefined in informational objects whereby inference is the norm andreflects the actual operational and technical environments. IntelligentPath Routing (IPR) leverages these object paths where traditionalsystems do not have a mechanism to transcend critical paths of inferredobjects with any predetermined intelligence or accuracy. The reportingcomplexity increases as scenarios as based upon relationships outside ofthe direct variety and only becomes even more complex when dealing withinferred, directional, bidirectional, linear and across multiple hopsand multiple paths.

The Business Intelligence Management System (BIMS) along with the addedfeature of Intelligent Path Routing (IPR) allows the addition ofintelligence into the path of objects for a given business or technicalscenario or potential impact.

These indirect or inferred relationships cannot be viewed or reportedupon in an efficient way until intelligent paths are incorporated.Traditional databases use limited filters based upon objectclassifications, and relationship types, but have difficulty whenstringing object classes together across predetermined paths to executeimpact analysis. Because there is no mechanism to easily add theintelligence other than building separate queries for each scenario,therefore making it inefficient, costly and time consuming. In somecases, information systems try to incorporate the intelligence into theway the data model is designed or by how the data is entered. The firstoption does not allow for flexibility and it too rigid to be consideredintelligent. Secondly, relying on how the data is entered is prone toerrors and inconsistencies. Most often the scenarios are notincorporated into the data structure, queries have to be run and thenstrung together and may total in the hundreds or thousands to give thedesired capability, and are subject to change. IPR allows for the pathsto have pre-designed intelligence whereby the paths follow real worldscenarios and once defined can be used in many different times over andover to solve complex problems of inference in the data once theintelligence has been programmed.

This intelligent path can be predetermined to represent an environment,a system, a process, a physical entity, a logical entity, a virtualentity or any mix thereof. Any system that can be described, and deemedwithin scope by virtue of impact, can be modeled using the IntelligentObject Model (IOM) and further defined with attributes andrelationships.

The impact assessment is determined from transcending and gathering dataelements from related objects, upstream or downstream any given path.These paths can transcend over any number of hops (strings of connectedobjects) via direct paths or paths of inference. It can also handlesingular or multiple paths based upon a given scenario or complexproblem whereby there are object entry points (start points) and desiredexit points (end points). This is available through the IntelligentObject Model (IOM) and not efficiently possible in traditionalrelational databases. With the Business Intelligence Management System(BIMS) detailed environmental, business and technical scenarios thatimpact a business can be determined and pre-programed into intelligentpaths. These paths and the data analytics determine, in real time, theimpacts these objects have to the business via direct or inferredcomponents. Weighted values can be added to the objects to automaticallycalculate the severity, impact and priority of business impact for agiven scenario.

In embodiments, the server-based IT management system comprises digitaldata storage for storing digital data representing service functions;such digital data may be stored in one or more data repositories innetwork communication with the network server. In some cases, the datarepositories store data relating to the BIMS and/or the IPR distinctlyfrom the service functions themselves. The digital data storage mayinclude one or more random access memory (RAM) devices such assynchronous dynamic random-access memories (SDRAM), double data rate(DDR) memories, or other volatile random-access memories. It may alsoinclude non-volatile memories such as electrically erasable/programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory,programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), batterybacked-up RAM, or other non-volatile memories. In some embodiments, thenetwork server may also include 3 rd level cache memory or a combinationof these or other like types of circuitry configured to storeinformation in a retrievable format. In some implementations, datastorage may be configured as part of the network server, oralternatively, may be configured separate from it but within the samepackage. The network server may be able to access internal memory via adifferent bus or control lines than is used to access the othercomponents of the network server (or computing system) on which the BIMSis implemented. The network server may also include, or have access to,one or more hard drives (or other types of storage memory) and opticaldisk drives. Hard drives and the optical disks for optical disk drivesare examples of machine readable (also called computer readable) mediasuitable for storing the final or interim results of the variousembodiments. The optical disk drives may include a combination ofseveral disc drives of various formats that can read from and/or writeto removable storage media (e.g., CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-W,DVD-RW, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and the like). Other forms or computer readablemedia that may be included in some embodiments of a network serverinclude, but are not limited to, floppy disk drives, 9-track tapedrives, tape cartridge drives, solid-state drives, cassette taperecorders, paper tape readers, bubble memory devices, magnetic stripreaders, punch card readers or any other type or computer useable ormachine-readable storage medium. Data storage may store the datarepository in a relational database, or other database structures.

The network server may either include data storage, such as hard drivesand optical disk drives as an integral part of the network server (e.g.,within the same cabinet or enclosure and/or using the same powersupply), as connected peripherals, or may access data storage, such ashard drives and optical disk drives, over a network, or a combination ofthese. Data storage comprising hard drives may often include a rotatingmagnetic medium configured for the storage and retrieval of data,computer programs or other information. In some embodiments, datastorage may be a solid-state drive using semiconductor memories. Inother embodiments, some other type of computer useable medium may beused. Data storage need not necessarily be contained within the networkserver. For example, in some embodiments the data storage may be serverstorage space within a network that is accessible to the network serverfor the storage and retrieval of data, computer programs or otherinformation. In some instances, the network server may use storage spaceat a server storage farm, or like type of storage facility, that isaccessible by the Internet or other communications network or medium.Accessible data storage may be used to store the software, instructionsand programs executed by the network server or the BIMS, including forexample, all or parts of the computer application program for carryingout activities of the various embodiments.

In some embodiments, there is provided a network server, comprisingvarious components suitable for implementing the various embodimentsdisclosed herein. The network server may be configured in the form of adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a mainframe computer, or any otherhardware or logic arrangement capable of being programmed or configuredto carry out instructions. In some embodiments, the network server mayact as a server, accepting inputs from a remote user over a local areanetwork (LAN), the Internet, or an intranet. In other embodiments, thenetwork server may function as a smart user interface device for aserver on the LAN or over the Internet. The network server may belocated and interconnected in one location, or may be distributed invarious locations and interconnected via communication links such as aLAN or a wide area network (WAN), via the Internet, via the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), a switching network, a cellulartelephone network, a wireless link, or other such communication links.Other devices may also be suitable for implementing or practicing theembodiments, or a portion of the embodiments. Such devices includepersonal digital assistants (PDA), wireless handsets (e.g., a cellulartelephone or pager), and other such electronic devices preferablycapable of being programmed to carry out instructions or routines. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many differentarchitectures may be suitable for the network server. In someembodiments, the network server may include a processor which may beembodied as a microprocessor, two or more parallel processors, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or other such control logic or circuitry. Theprocessor may be configured to access a local cache memory, and sendrequests for data that are not found in the local cache memory across acache bus to a second level cache memory. Some embodiments may integratethe processor, and the local cache onto a single integrated circuit andother embodiments may utilize a single level cache memory or no cachememory at all. Other embodiments may integrate multiple processors ontoa single die and/or into a single package. Yet other embodiments mayintegrate multiple processors with multiple local cache memories with asecond level cache memory into a single package with a front side bus tocommunicate to a memory/bus controller. The memory/bus controller mayaccept accesses from the processor(s) and direct them to either theinternal memory or to the various input/output (I/O) busses. Someembodiments of the network server may include multiple processorpackages sharing the front-side bus to the memory/bus controller. Otherembodiments may have multiple processor packages with independentfront-side bus connections to the memory/bus controller. The memory buscontroller may communicate with the internal memory using a memory bus.

In embodiments disclosed herein, disclosed systems provide forinstantiation of service function objects distinctly from datarepositories that run the service objects associated with an IT system,or that store data tables (or other structures) containing datadescribing a state or attributes of the service objects. The BIMS andIPR can generally more effectively model the status and operability ofthe service functions through instantiating objects relating thereto onthe network server (or data storage accessible thereby). This providesfor greater flexibility of dynamically instantiating new servicefunction objects, or dynamically amending existing service functions orrelationships therebetween. In embodiments, the service function objectsare instantiated on the network server or on computing devices that arecommunicatively connected over a network.

In some embodiments, each service object has access to all directservice function links for service function objects directly linkeddirectly thereto, and all indirect service function links for servicefunction objects linked indirectly are determined by the network serverdynamically. In some cases, all existing paths between indirectly linkedservice function objects may be stored; in other cases, including whenthe number of linkage paths could be complex, linkages from any givenservice function object, or portions thereof, may be determineddynamically, or on demand. In embodiments, a service function maycomprise any of the following: a given network device or component; agiven computing device or component thereof; a given function performedby the given network device, the given computing device, or by acombination thereof; or a combination thereof. A service function maycomprise an aspect of the networking layers as represented in the OSImodel; for example, any aspect of the physical, data link, network,transport, session, presentation, application layers could constitute aservice function. The OS, data storage, a virtual component (e.g. avirtual machine), a jail, a container, or any constituent computingaspect from which such components are operated or instantiated maycomprise a service function; alternatively, as service or function thatis provided by such aspects may be considered as a service function, forwhich a service function object as a representation thereof may beinstantiated by the BIMS.

In some embodiments, a BIMS may be implemented in association with othertypes of systems. Any type of system comprising any related servicefunctions that provide related and/or dependent systems, and is notlimited to IT management systems. The service function objects can beused to model any business, operational, or physical service functionsthat utilize dependent or related system components. For example,business functions, such as sales and marketing functions, HR functions(including payroll, hiring, role determination and assignment), shippingand distribution functions, customer service functions, and ITmanagement systems. Each function may have one or more service functionobjects associated therewith. Upon the creation or development of a newservice function, the system may implement a new class and classrelationship rules and models, that are coded directly into theintelligent object model. Accordingly, as new service functions areimplemented (or introduced for management by a BIMS), new objects inrespect of existing types of service functions or new classes for newtypes of service functions (or new or different types of relationships).Accordingly, whereas an IT management system has been provided asexemplary embodiments, the same system may be used to model, inferrelationship impact, and determine critical and alternative relationshippaths in any business, operational, or physical system. A set ofnon-limiting examples, intelligent objects, with relationshipinformation comprising a part thereof, wherein critical paths can bedetermined and impact assessments for directly and indirectly linkedservice functions, may include the following:

Transportation (Objects can be Planes, Trains, Automobiles (self-drivingincluded), Airplanes, Spacecraft, Watercraft, Boats, Ships, Motorcyclesetc.)

Planes or other complex systems (Objects can be instantiated fromclasses relating to, and relationships between, navigational system,motion control, landing gear, life support systems, entertainment andannouncement systems, fire suppression and fire detection, foodresources and preparation, flight scheduling)

Building Systems (Objects can be instantiated from classes relating to,and relationships between, Heating/Cooling, Structure, Alarm Systems,Monitoring, Water, Air Quality etc.)

Medical Science (Objects can be instantiated from classes relating to,and relationships between, Organs, Systems in the body cardio, vascular,muscle, nervous systems)

Environmental Health and Population Analysis (Relationship between theenvironment and human health, e.g. pesticide use and cancers, water andair pollution and disease etc.)

Technology (Traditional Data Center Objects/Cloud Computing Componentsin the data center Servers, Mainframes, Networks, Storage, theirrelationships and impact.

Telecommunication Systems (Objects can be instantiated from classesrelating to, and relationships between, network devices, routers,switches, interfaces, TCAMS, etc.)

Financial and Banking Systems (Objects can be instantiated from classesrelating to, and relationships between, customers, accounts, transfers,securities, loans, financial instruments, branches, ATMs, cash, etc.)

All of the non-limiting examples of systems noted above includecomponents and aspects that are inter-related. Each of them can bemodelled using an intelligent object model as disclosed herein,including the relationships between each of the constituent servicefunctions (as modeled by objects within a BIMS). Accordingly, an impactassessment and critical path analysis, to determine impact betweenindirectly linked service functions, even when such indirect link isdifficult to determine in advance, can be performed for non-IT systems.

Exemplary Functions and Systems

The Business Intelligence Management Systems (BIMS) in some embodimentshereof improve the way data is holistically gathered and structuredusing the Intelligent Object Model (IOM), and significantly improves thedata analytics, data mining and reporting capability via IntelligentPath Routing (IPR). This facilitates information collection,arrangement, and analysis and to utilize their information to makeoperational and strategic and tactical decisions to improve efficienciesand ultimately customer satisfaction to gain competitive advantage.Methods and systems disclosed herein may be utilized in the followingtechnical areas:

Common business and technical areas supported by the BusinessIntelligence Management System (BIMS) Access Contract Problem SecurityManagement Management Management Management Accounting Customer Productand Service Catalog and Relationship Service Management FinancialManagement Development Management Application Disaster Recovery ProgramService Level Management Management Management Management Asset DemandProject Service Management Management Management Management AvailabilityFacility Release Service Portfolio Management Management ManagementManagement Capacity Incident Reporting Supplier Management ManagementCapability Management Configuration Knowledge Request StrategyManagement Management Management Management Continuity MaterialsResearch and Supply Chain Management Management Development ManagementContinuous Monitoring and Sales and Vendor Service Event MarketingManagement Improvement Management

FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of the relationships between an ITsystem architecture 140, the Business Impact Management System (BIMS)120, the layered groupings of the intelligent path object model 130Athrough 130J and the Holistic Business Management Capability, Analyticsand Reporting Model 110. The Business Intelligence Management System 120is designed to efficiently structure relevant business data togetherinto objects, attributes and object relationship into a cohesive objectmodel. The Business Intelligence Management System 120 addressshortcomings in the state of the art through the use of an IntelligentObject Model (IOM) 130 that is flexible, and capable of bringingtogether relevant data from various trusted sources into a cohesiveformat and addressing the disparate data schema problem. The HolisticBusiness Management Capability 110 provides data analytics, impactassessments and reporting capabilities related to the linkages of theIntelligent Object Models 130 via the Business Intelligence ManagementSystem 120. This overall IP system architecture 140 combined with theHolistic Business Management Capability 110 creates an effectiveEnterprise Decision Making Model 100.

With reference to FIG. 2, and in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment, a business intelligence management system, generallyreferred to using the numeral 200, will now be described. There is shown3 impact assessments as examples and their respective paths acrossobjects in the representative IT system shown. The Business ImpactManagement System (BIMS) 200 contains the Intelligent Path Routing ofthe Service Function Objects 210A through 210J, which are virtualrepresentations of the Intelligent Object Model (IOM) 130A through 130Jas shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows an exemplary Intelligent Path Routingusing 3 impact assessments which provides for the determination ofimpact assessments across directly related objects or extend thecapability to allow impact to be determined across objects that areindirectly related or inferred.

With reference to FIG. 3, and in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment, there is shown an exemplary IT system and the associatedarchitecture of an associated Business Intelligence Management System(BIMS). Business Intelligence Management System (BIMS) Architecture ofFIG. 3 shows how the integration into a heterogeneous environment thatcan collate the data from the trusted sources into a cohesive objectmodel. The intention is to feed only relevant data and not replace thetrusted sources as they may have other features that are fit forpurpose. i.e. Human Resource Management System will have many featuresbuilt in so only relevant objects, (scope to be determined in theimplementation) deemed to be important for impact assessment or toincrease the data analytics and reporting capability.

With reference to FIG. 4, and in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment, there is shown three exemplary impact assessments inassociation with their impact assessment routing paths. Impact pathrouting schemes 1, 2 and 3 are respectively shown in association withvarious systems and objects that have been mapped to an exemplarybusiness process. The three examples show impact assessments, whereinthese paths can be added to the system using the Intelligent PathRouting (IPR) so that the systems know the path of the impacts in orderto determine impact assessment. Weighted values can also be added aspart of the automation and intelligence so the severity and priority ofimpact can be measured and reported upon, and appropriate notificationssent out automatically.

Impact assessments can be assessed as follows in the following supplychain management example. An example when there is a disruption in thesupply of raw materials such as aluminum used to make cellular phones,this could have an impact on the following:

-   -   1.1 Materials Management—find another supplier with the same        cost, same quality of aluminum if possible, may have to use        lessor grade aluminum    -   1.2 Product/Service Development—may now have to use less quality        aluminum in the production of the cellular phones,    -   1.3 Program Management—manage the new vendors, internal programs        and processes to produce the cellular phones,    -   1.4 Business Services Products and Services—may not be able to        produce the same number or same quality of cellular phones,    -   1.5 Clients—may purchase a lessor quality cellular phone.

Impact assessments can be assessed in accordance with one embodiment inthe following Accounting/Financial Management example when a budget isreduced from 10 million to 5 million; this could have an impact on thefollowing:

-   -   2.1 Human Resource Management—there may be layoffs, reduced pay,        reduced benefits, reduced training for staff and consultants,    -   2.2 Product Service and Development—less funds for research and        development, fewer products made for inventory    -   2.3 Sales/Marketing—sales staff may be reduced, less product to        sell    -   2.4 Asset Management—less funds to purchase new assets, may have        to extend the asset lifecycle, make do with the asset at hand    -   2.5 Project Management—less funds for projects, may have to        reduce project scope, cancel projects, reduce activities, reduce        project staff and consultants    -   2.6 Program Management—reduce or cancel programs that are not        core to the business    -   2.7 Business Products/Services—less funds for products and        services, reduction in the variety of products and services or        cancellation of select products and or services

Impact assessments can be assessed in accordance with one embodiment inthe following Facility Management example. There is a power outage at adata center contained in a facility and the backup power failed. Impactassessment to determine the IT information technology infrastructureaffected, the applications, the business services and the clientsimpacted, as follows:

-   -   3.1 Virtual/Physical Servers—powered down due to the power        outage    -   3.2 Software Components (Websites, Applications, Databases)—that        are offline due to the servers powering down    -   3.3 Business Applications—affected business applications that        are no longer accessible or able to support business services    -   3.4 Business Systems—any business systems that were made up of        business applications that are no offline    -   3.5 Business Products or Services—all business products and        services that are no longer available for consumption by any        client    -   3.6 Clients—a list of impacted clients (and their contact        information) experiencing business product and service        interruption or no service at all

With reference to FIG. 5, and in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment, there is shown intelligent path routing in association witha predetermined (and predeterminable) path based upon a given problemand reflects an actual enterprise architecture. In this example, thereis shown a power outage in a Data Center and the Business is interestedto know what Servers are impacted, what Business Applications are down,the Business Services are not available and what Clients are not able touse the Services or Business Applications. Exemplary notationillustrating these relationships are as follows: A1. Facility (DataCenter) <contains> Physical Servers <host> Virtual Servers <run>Software <enable> Business Applications <comprise> Business Systems<used by> Clients. the intelligent path is demonstrated in red fromlines 3.0 to 3.6. Below is another example of the same intelligent pathturned on its side. FIG. 5 shows an exemplary critical path fromstarting point 500A and ending point 500B via 510A-510F and also showsan alternative path from starting point 500A and ending point 500B via520A-520E.

The intelligent path scenario of FIG. 5 could be used to assess thefollowing query: What Clients are affected by Servers running BusinessApplications and Websites are impacted by the Data Center Power outage?FIG. 5 displays a small fraction of objects contained in a Facility(Data Center) however we are only interested in the Business Servicesand the Clients that are impacted by Server outage due to the powerfailure. This is an example of determining impact to a Client or groupof clients through inference. The Data Center is related to the Clientsthrough a series of objects over a number of hops. Traditional databaseswill give you a report that would include all of the paths throughrecursive queries and it would give exponential results that lessmeaningful and timely and have no intelligence build in.

Intelligent Path Routing (IPR) can be programmed into the BIMS so that,in some embodiments, a user may select the impact entry point i.e. DataCenter and the exit point, Client. The pre-determined intelligent pathwill automatically be followed to down or up the path through theinferred relationships resulting in the real impact and answer the givenquestion.

In accordance with a second exemplary embodiment, there is shown asecond intelligent path routing in association with a predetermined (andpredeterminable) path based upon a given problem and reflects an actualenterprise architecture. In this example, the following assessment isconsidered: What Clients are impacted from the same Data Center poweroutage are affected by Mainframe Applications? Exemplary notationillustrating these relationships are as follows: Data Center <contains>Mainframes <hosts> LPARs <contain> Regions <run> Software <enable>Mainframe Business Applications <used by> Clients. An intelligent pathas a second example whereby the business needs to know if any Mainframeswere impacted by the power outage, the Software and any BusinessApplications that are used by any specific Clients. This information isused to manage Client relations and expectations. It is also used totake continuity measures such as to evoke Disaster Recovery processes toeither fail over to a redundant Mainframe located in a separate DataCenter that is on standby.

There is provided in one embodiment, a server-based IT management systemcomprising a network server further comprising a service function objectstore that stores a plurality of service function objects, each servicefunction object being a digital representation of a service function andcomprising one or more service attributes and one or more servicefunction links for linking each service function object to at least oneother service function object; and a network communications interfacefor receiving information indicative of an operating state for eachservice function; wherein each service function link is associated witha service-loss impact value indicating service-loss impact on theoperating state of each linked service function linked thereto upon areduction in operating state of the service function; and wherein theoperability of any given service function is determined automaticallyupon the reduction of operating state of any one or more other servicefunctions based on direct and indirect linkages between the givenservice function and the other service functions and the respectiveservice-loss impact values associated with each said direct and indirectlinkages.

Optionally, embodiments of the server-based IT management system may beconfigured such that each service function object can be generateddynamically. Optionally, embodiments of the server-based IT managementsystem may be further configured such that the one or more serviceattributes for each service function object can be generateddynamically.

Optionally, embodiments of the server-based IT management system may beconfigured such that the service-loss impact value is function of atleast one of: the service attribute of a directly linked servicefunction object and the service attribute of an indirectly linkedservice function object.

In embodiments, there may be provided methods and systems fordetermining the existence, nature, and attributes of linkages orrelationships between any two or more service objects within an ITsystem, including the operational impact on any service function giventhe loss or reduction of operability of any other service function thatis linked or shares a relationship or dependency. In some embodiments, acritical path between two or more critical service functions isdetermined, said critical path comprising of linkages between theservice functions and other related service functions. In some cases, animpact, sometimes referred to as a critical impact, on operability of afirst set of at least one service functions on said critical path isassessed based on a potential reduction of operating state of at leastone impacted service function having a linkage with said critical path.Such an assessment may be calculated based on the service function linksand respective service-loss impact values associated with each of theservice function objects that correspond to the service functions onsaid critical path. In such cases, a critical path can be determinedbetween any two service functions and by using the service-loss impactvalues a better understanding of the effect of a loss or reduction inoperability can be understood. In some embodiments, the impact onoperability of the first set of at least one service function is furtherdetermined based on a reduction of operating state of one or more lesscritical service functions. By doing so, upon the reduction ofoperability of a given service function that impacts a critical servicefunction, other non-critical (or less critical) service functions can beremoved or stopped on the critical path so as to mitigate the effect oncritical service functions. For example, a minimized impact onoperability of the first set of at least one service function isimplemented by reducing the operating state of the one or more lesscritical service function upon the occurrence of an actual reduction ofoperating state of the at least one other service function on saidcritical path.

In some embodiments, at least one alternative path between the two ormore critical service functions can be determined, either in advance orin real-time. Said alternative path may comprise of linkages between thecritical service functions that does not include an impacted servicefunction (i.e. a service function with reduced operability), wherein analternative impact on operability of said first set of at least oneservice functions on said alternative path is assessed based on thepotential reduction of operating state of the at least one other servicefunction. Provided that the alternative critical path, in which at leastthe impacted service function object is replaced with another serviceobject having at least improved operational capabilities relative to theimpacted service function, the IT management systems replaces saidcritical path with said alternative path. In some embodiments, wherethere is no alternative path between the two or more critical servicefunctions that does not comprise said impacted service function, analternative service function may be identified along said alternativepath to provide redundancy for said impacted critical service functionand thus ensure that the critical path is not the only linkage or set ofrelationships between an affected or potentially affected first servicefunction and a critical service function (whose operation may not orshould not be impacted negatively).

With reference to the exemplary intelligent object model shown in FIG.10, which illustrates a potential reduction in operation of the datacenter 1 service function object and the critical paths associatedtherewith. Having a predefined set of Classifications and relationships(which are represented by service function links in embodiments of theIOM) reflecting the real world deployed Enterprise Architecture nowenables Intelligent Path Routing through the Relationship ClassificationIdentification (RCID). Correspondingly the Relationship ObjectIdentification (ROID) value can dynamically determine the actualinstances of the Objects in the impact path. To use the RCID value todetermine all instances of the impact. Start with the failed Object(Data Center 1) Data Center 1 910 uses the Class of Data Center. TheRelationship Classification ID RCID dictates path from the StartingPoint Data Center 1 to the Client via the following RCID path. Thisbecomes the rule to automatically determine the actual instances of theobjects impacted. As further shown in the table 1110 in FIG. 11, DataCenter Classification Intelligent Path toClient=RCID=(C8-7)+RCID=(C7-6)+RCID=(C5-6)+RCID=(C4-5)+RCID=(C3-4)+RCID=(C1-4)+RCID=(C1-2).Cross referencing the RCID with the ROID will give you the actual ObjectID that can be reported upon. Therefore, Data Center 1 910 will impactClient 1 901 for accessing Business Service 1 1030 that depends uponBusiness System 1 1050 and Business Apps 1 and 2 1070A and 1070B. Asimilar method can be used to determine the impact of Data Center 2 1020since we have defined the RCID, the cross-reference to the ROID willproduce dynamically the actual objects impacted. Computational Impactcan also be more accurately calculated using the attribute value pairson the relationships combined with the object attributes.

While the present disclosure describes various embodiments forillustrative purposes, such description is not intended to be limited tosuch embodiments. On the contrary, the applicant's teachings describedand illustrated herein encompass various alternatives, modifications,and equivalents, without departing from the embodiments, the generalscope of which is defined in the appended claims. Except to the extentnecessary or inherent in the processes themselves, no particular orderto steps or stages of methods or processes described in this disclosureis intended or implied. In many cases the order of process steps may bevaried without changing the purpose, effect, or import of the methodsdescribed.

Information as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable ofattaining the above-described object of the present disclosure, thepresently preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, and is, thus,representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated bythe present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure fullyencompasses other embodiments which may become apparent to those skilledin the art, and is to be limited, accordingly, by nothing other than theappended claims, wherein any reference to an element being made in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly sostated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functionalequivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodimentand additional embodiments as regarded by those of ordinary skill in theart are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended tobe encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, no requirement existsfor a system or method to address each and every problem sought to beresolved by the present disclosure, for such to be encompassed by thepresent claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step inthe present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims. However, that various changes andmodifications in form, material, work-piece, and fabrication materialdetail may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure, as set forth in the appended claims, as may beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, are also encompassed bythe disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server-based IT management system comprising: anetwork server comprising: a service function object store configured tostore a plurality of service function objects, each service functionobject being a digital representation of a service function andcomprising one or more service attributes and one or more servicefunction links for linking each service function object to at least oneother service function object; and a network communications interfaceconfigured to receive information indicative of an operating state foreach service function; wherein each service function link is associatedwith a service-loss impact value indicating service-loss impact on theoperating state of each linked service function linked thereto upon areduction in operating state of the service function; and wherein anoperability of a service function is configured to be determinedautomatically upon the reduction of operating state of any one or moreother service functions based on direct and indirect linkages betweenthe service function and the any one or more other service functions andthe respective service-loss impact values associated with each saiddirect and indirect linkages.
 2. The server-based IT management systemof claim 1, wherein each service function object is configured to begenerated dynamically.
 3. The server-based IT management system of claim1, wherein the one or more service attributes for each service functionobject are configured to be generated dynamically.
 4. The server-basedIT management system of claim 1, wherein the service-loss impact valueis function of at least one of: the service attribute of a directlylinked service function object or the service attribute of an indirectlylinked service function object.
 5. The server-based IT management systemof claim 1, wherein digital data representing service functions areconfigured to be stored in one or more data repositories in networkcommunication with the network server.
 6. The server-based IT managementsystem of claim 5, wherein the service function objects are configuredto be instantiated on the network server.
 7. The server-based ITmanagement system of claim 1, wherein each service object has access toall direct and indirect service function links for service functionobjects linked both directly and indirectly thereto.
 8. The server-basedIT management system of claim 1, wherein the service function comprisesany of the following: a network device; a computing device; a functionperformed by the network device, the computing device, or by acombination thereof; or a combination thereof.
 9. The server-based ITmanagement system of claim 1, wherein a critical path between two ormore critical service functions is configured to be determined, saidcritical path comprising linkages therebetween, wherein a criticalimpact on operability of a first set of at least one service functionson said critical path is configured to be assessed based on a potentialreduction of operating state of at least one impacted service functionhaving a linkage with said critical path, said assessment using theservice function links and respective service-loss impact valuesassociated with each of the service function objects that correspond tothe service functions on said critical path.
 10. The server based-ITmanagement system of claim 9, wherein the impact on operability of thefirst set of at least one service function is further configured to bedetermined based on a reduction of operating state of one or more lesscritical service functions.
 11. The server based IT-management system ofclaim 10, wherein a minimized impact on operability of the first set ofat least one service function is configured to be implemented byreducing the operating state of the one or more less critical servicefunction upon the occurrence of an actual reduction of operating stateof the at least one other service function on said critical path. 12.The server-based IT management of system of claim 9, wherein at leastone alternative path between the two or more critical service functionsis configured to be determined, said alternative path comprisinglinkages therebetween which does not comprise said impacted servicefunction, wherein an alternative impact on operability of said first setof at least one service functions on said alternative path is configuredto be assessed based on the potential reduction of operating state ofthe at least one other service function, and, wherein the IT managementsystem is configured to replace said critical path with said alternativepath if the alternative impact is lower than the critical impact. 13.The server-based IT management of system of claim 12, wherein inresponse to determining that there is no alternative path between thetwo or more critical service functions that does not comprise saidimpacted service function, an alternative service function is configuredto be identified to provide redundancy for said impacted criticalservice function.
 14. A server-based IT management method, said methodimplemented on a server-based IT management system comprising a networkserver and a network communications interface, said method comprising:storing a service function object store in said network server, aplurality of service function objects, each service function objectbeing a digital representation of a service function, each servicefunction object comprising one or more service attributes; associatingone or more service function links between at least one of the servicefunction objects, wherein each service function link is associated witha service-loss impact value indicating service-loss impact on theoperating state of each linked service function linked thereto upon areduction in operating state of the service function; receivinginformation indicative of an operating state for each service functionvia said network communications interface; and automaticallydetermining, upon the reduction of an operating state of any one or moreother service functions, the operability of a service function based ondirect and indirect linkages between the service function and the anyone or more other service functions and the respective service-lossimpact values associated with each said direct and indirect linkages.15. The method of claim 14, wherein the service-loss impact value isfunction of at least one of: the service attribute of a directly linkedservice function object or the service attribute of an indirectly linkedservice function object.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprisingdetermining a critical path between two or more critical servicefunctions, said critical path comprising linkages therebetween, whereina critical impact on operability of a first set of at least one servicefunctions on said critical path is assessed based on a potentialreduction of operating state of at least one impacted service functionhaving a linkage with said critical path, said assessment using theservice function links and respective service-loss impact valuesassociated with each of the service function objects that correspond tothe service functions on said critical path.
 17. The method of claim 16,further comprising determining the impact on operability of the firstset of at least one service function based on a reduction of operatingstate of one or more less critical service functions.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein a minimized impact on operability of the first set ofat least one service function is implemented by reducing the operatingstate of the one or more less critical service function upon theoccurrence of an actual reduction of operating state of the at least oneother service function on said critical path.
 19. The method of claim16, further comprising determining at least one alternative path betweenthe two or more critical service functions, said alternative pathcomprising linkages therebetween which does not comprise said impactedservice function, wherein an alternative impact on operability of saidfirst set of at least one service functions on said alternative path isassessed based on the potential reduction of operating state of the atleast one other service function, and, wherein the IT management systemsreplaces said critical path with said alternative path if thealternative impact is lower than the critical impact.
 20. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising in response to determining that there is noalternative path between the two or more critical service functions thatdoes not comprise said impacted service function, identifying analternative service function to provide redundancy for said impactedcritical service function.